Texas A&M gets SEC audition

Thursday

Sep 29, 2011 at 8:00 AM

The same week the Aggies officially joined the SEC for 2012, they get a chance to make an early statement to their new league.

By Talal ElmasryCorrespondent

Two years ago, Texas A&M hardly looked like it could be competitive in the mighty SEC.However, last year a revitalized Aggies program went 9-3, finished ranked for the first time in 10 years and nearly pulled off an upset of then-No. 11 Arkansas, falling 24-17.Now, the same week it was announced that Texas A&M will officially join the SEC in 2012, the 14th-ranked Aggies get a chance to make an early statement to their new league when they play the 18th-ranked Razorbacks this Saturday.“We see it as a way in which we will initiate, this year, our true belonging in the SEC,” said Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin. “We'll call it an early conference game for us right now.”Arkansas, an old Southwest Conference rival from 1934 to 1991, has beaten Texas A&M the past two seasons as part of a 10-year agreement to play an annual game called the Southwest Classic in 111,000-capacity Cowboys Stadium.As big as this game is for the SEC's newest member, it's just as big for Arkansas, which has 23 players from the state of Texas on its roster.“I thought it's always helped us,” said Hogs head coach Bobby Petrino. “When they came with the idea about playing A&M in Dallas, we were really excited about it because we felt like the more exposure we get in the state of Texas, the more our players can come home and play in Dallas Stadium every year, and the better opportunity we have to get young men to come to our school. This just increases our exposure in the entire state.”Razorbacks junior linebacker Alonzo Highsmith, a junior college transfer from Missouri City, Texas, is among several key players from the Lone Star State playing for Arkansas.“Going back home in front of your family is always big, so I feel it will be exciting,” said Highsmith, who leads the team with five tackles for a loss and is tied for second with 22 tackles. “It will be my first time going into that stadium, and I'm looking forward to that because they said it's like the Disneyland of football.”President Loftin says he worries about his own team's freshmen and sophomores “gawking” at the 72x160-foot HD video screen in the dome instead of focusing on the field. But Aggies coach Mike Sherman knows that can't be the case this week with his team coming off a heartbreaking 30-29 loss to Oklahoma St., and Arkansas looking to rebound from a 38-14 loss to Alabama. And not while Texas A&M has a prime opportunity to earn stripes from an Arkansas team that Sherman feels has earned a few recently in the SEC.“Defensively, they look very much on par with most Southeastern Conference defenses. They have some big guys that can run and they can rush the quarterback pretty good. They're an impressive team. They're one of the top teams in the Southeastern Conference. ...We better have all our ducks lined up this week.”